Create an organisational seed-fund that individuals/teams can access with bids for money to support the set-up & implementation of improvement ideas & innovation. Engagement through harnessing ideas and creativity within the organisation.

#12 by Michael Lee Stallard:

Be present to connect in conversations – It’s been said that attention is oxygen for relationships. When meeting with people, get in the habit of being present by staying focused on them and giving them your full attention. Don’t check your smart phone, don’t look at your watch, don’t look around the room or let your mind wander.

#13 by Terrance Seamon:

Simply listen.

#16 by Kendra Marks:

Smile and have fun! Find time to add a bit of humor into someone else’s day and your own. It relieves stress and energizes yourself and those around you.

#19 Les Landes

Apply the lessons from the landmark research done by Ken Kovach at George Mason University. He asked thousands of workers in different organizations what the main drivers were for their discretionary effort (i.e. going the extra mile). The top three things employees identified were interesting work, appreciation of work done, and being in on information - which cost the company very little.

#21 by Anthony Shearn:

Ask "If you knew you would get the support and the resources you need, what do you think is the very best thing you personally could do for the business right now?"

#28 by Carl a Donato Jr.:

Power of one - engage one associate per day and watch them pay it forward.

#46 by Steve Brown:

Today, make it a point to ask three members of your team for their advice on an issue of significance. Start with a very simple, "I need your help with something..." and then listen intently, take notes, clarify what you heard and thank them for their thoughts. Close the loop by acting on their input in some way, large or small.

#52 by John Hallonquist:

With new team members or new teams, start a conversation or one-on-one meeting with, "how do you know when you are having a good day?"

#57 by Cord Himelstern:

Make it personal. Take the time to listen and understand what inspires your employees.

#59 by Jennifer O'Halloran:

Let others in, engagement breeds engagement.

#76 by David Zinger:

Just add spice.I start my day off with a small Spice Girl’s number by asking myself and others, "so tell me what you want, what you really really want. I’ll tell you what I want, what I really really want..."

------------ Talk Back ---------------

What is your favorite from the book?

I like to view this work through a 21st Century lens. One that reflects

An often global and physically dispersed workforce.

The end of "listen or read-only" broadcasting: All communication is a two-way street.

The move away from command and control, where everything must be managed by a manager -- to a collaborative knowledge workforce quite capable of coming up with brilliant ideas and putting the ideas into action. The leader's role is often to get that ball focused, and rolling.

Cheers.

PS: I am not a cat person. I don't have anything against cat people. Just had to come clean. The book was good enough, in my dog-centric opinion, to overlook the cover art!

July 25, 2012

When a writer representing the Harvard Business School contacted me some time ago requesting an interview for a book he was writing, I got a little excited. He was looking at how companies communicate with employees today, suspecting there was a better way -- suspecting the old school norms just didn't engage talent and power the business like it should. Hallelujah!

Introducing Talk, Inc., the resulting book just released by Harvard Business Press. It is an excellent tool for anyone wondering how to crack code when it comes to strategy engagement, cross-organizational communication, workplace culture, and igniting passion to power an organization.

Written by Professor Boris Groysberg of Harvard Business School, and Michael Slind of Fast Companyeditorial fame, the book features stories and case studies gathered through interviews with hundreds of practioners, communication experts, employees, and company executives. The book includes company case studies, tips, and practioners on the leading edge. It covers how these new practices work, and what they have done for the business. In short, it makes the case, and inspires the reader. It shows how easy it can be for any company to upgrade their approach to organizational communication, and start the journey to increasing the returns they get in the marketplace from a workforce who is "in it to win it" just as much as you are.

What I love about this Book

It has practices that could help organizations, regardless of where they are on the journey from old-school to cutting-edge.

It answers the "so what" question and makes the subject relevant to the C-suite -- as Harvard Business School does best.

It furthers the conversation on this subject, thereby helping to improve the work lives of employees, and the brand power of companies globally.

Key Themes

The book updates the phrase "organizational communication" to "organizational conversation." That means everything that impacts the flow information across and around the company. A conversation is a two-way exchange. Just like a good handshake -- it needs to be equally weighted. This basic premise of a two-way exchange is the key to the new era of powering organizations from within. (In my writing, I've discussed this as moving from the "command and control model" toward one that is more "collaborative and connected.")

To shed more light on the concept of "organizational conversation," the book is identifies 4 elements that make this happen well.

Intimacy. The concept of feeling in "close proximity," regardless of geographic or hierarchical location. A closeness of spirit.

Interactivity.This is where talking "with," rather than talking "at" is the norm.

Intentionality.Here, we make the C-suite connection. This isn't about candy and balloons to make people feel good, it is about business strategy and furthering the goals of the company. This section shows how to make sure the threads align with the marketplace and desired business results.

The book brings each of these points to life via four major case studies -- Hindustan Petroleum Corp. (Intimacy), Cisco Systems (Interactivity),EMC (Inclusion), and Kingfisher PLC (Intentionality). Each section is followed by a TIPS chapter, helping state the business case and practical elements of deployment.

-------------- TALK BACK -------------

I'd love to hear your reaction to the book. Please consider giving it a read, and giving it to your top executive in charge. I really do believe this conversation can help make "work" a better place for all.

June 14, 2012

Public Relations is generally known as "spin." The exciting -- and oddly very bold -- opportunity in today's PR world comes down to one word:

"HONESTY."

Few management teams will be able to pull it off. Few corporate lawyers will allow it. It goes against every protectionist bone in our suits. Thus, the even greater opportunity to stand out if deployed.

The market is transparent now. Your customers communicate with each other whether you like it or not. News, good or bad, gets out.

Every sale takes both a buyer and a seller. In this 21st Century market, the two sides of that coin are now equals.

The best way to manage this is ultimately transparent market is not to fight it -- but to leverage it.

The social phenomenon is based on relationships and honesty. Success is having a trusted brand.

Every brand is subject to the social phenomenon.

Where are you in this dynamic?

Ignoring it?

Fighting it?

Leveraging it?

The best salespeople (those with an eye on business longevity) have leveraged honesty since the beginning of time. Could it be time for the C-suite and PR folks to bravely do the same?

Google has had some massive play with its "Do no evil" mantra. Imagine if that were true?

It will takes truck loads of courage for any company to pull this off, and lines will have to be drawn in certain places, in the realm of disclosure, for example -- but it could be really cool.

------------------- Talk Back -----------------

Would you, as a consumer, appreciate an honest dialog with the brands you favor?

Do you see opportunity to stand out in your competitive circle by being honest with the marketplace?

April 16, 2012

Join me for a live webinar on Tuesday, April 24 on the topic of branding. I'll share a framework that will get you going in a no-fuss way. I'll also share tactics and go over pitfalls you should be aware of. Here is the link to register.The event is brought to you by HumanResourceExecutive Online.

Branding, me, and free -- all we need is you. Let's talk.

------------- TALK BACK ----------------

Anything in particular you want covered? My talk discusses brand strategy as it could be applied to any product, yet in this case, I give specific tactics related to employment branding.

April 12, 2012

I hosted a most unusual gathering of my A+ professional women friends recently. I call them A+ because they are all lovely people, hugely accomplished, and together, we comprise a local arm of a global sisterhood of women in a 'by-invitation-only' type of club. It should be noted that among the decision criteria for club membership, is that you would be happy to be stuck in an airport with this person, or to be a roommate with her in a hotel. Net: no divas.

What did I find unusual about this gathering?

Half of the women had left their jobs. The moves had one element in common: company values.

Company Values?

Yup, the women felt they had reached a breaking point where they didn't want to work for organizations and senior executives who acted like jerks, or who operated in a value-deficient manner inside the organization. Each of the organizations they left, by the way, is a household name.

What else did these women have in common? They are all executives in their 40s, and when they left their employer, they did not bother to line up another job. Apparently, the option of leaving, into an uncertain world, was better than staying where they were -- working for organizations who "did not get them" or "get it" when it came to how to behave.

What Gives?

At first, I thought this blog post would be about what companies should do to retain women like this. (Answer: To not only have company values, but to live them. A dusty binder on a bookshelf, or a slide in a recruiting presentation is not enough. The C-suite needs to care, and show they care in their actions and words.)

But then the bigger picture appeared. Could these departing women as executive employees merely be the canary in the coal mine? Could these departures also signal future purchasing departures from women who only want to spend dollars with companies and organizations who don't act like jerks?

Something to think about. Add Millennials and even a portion of the 99%ers to the "women with values population" and this could signal a sea change to come.

Has Change Already Begun?

I found myself instinctively acting in what I guess we can call "a post-canary" way recently. A dear friend is a business owner who had to deal with a law suit when the guy he put in charge acted in an unethical manner. It wasn't the first time this friend of mine had to pick up the pieces when his general managers (all men) acted poorly. My advice to him, "For goodness sake, hire a woman to run the place." Oddly enough, he just hired a woman in her 40's.

We need the guys. Don't get me wrong. Perhaps we just need more executives role modeling, for men and women alike, behavior fit for sustainable business success.

See today's WSJ for an article on an example of values-lacking behavior. The business action here was understandable, it was HOW it was handled that caused all the damaging ripples to date. (Thanks Penny Peters for the call out to the article.)

--------- Talk Back ------------

Are you seeing this?

I recall a Harvard Business Review feature some time ago that pointed to why women in their 40s were leaving. Then, the headline for me was that the pull and priority from family exceeded that of the workplace. While that is likely still a factor for many women in their 40's, it should be noted that for this particular group at my dinner party, none of them left because a family pull or priority.

March 08, 2012

A few years ago a colleague friend and I exchanged stories in the hallway relating to our kids. My friend was a new mom. We continued our conversation over email, when she shared with me a personal story she had written to her traveling husband about a wonderful moment with their baby. With that, the idea of publishing a book filled with such stories, written by the women of EMC was born. This month, in honor of International Women's Day (March 8th), our book had a couple of write ups in some pretty cool places. Harvard Business Review, and PRWeek. Inspired by those posts, I opted to update my own one-page story on life as a working mom, now circa 2012. You can read it here. Today, my friend and co-conspirator keeps the book alive via her blog, dedicated to the subject. Go Natalie! Share your story. International Womens Day #WomensDay

I was blessed and lucky to land at a great company, and work under wise and courageous senior leaders as a very young woman. They gave me responsibility and respect beyond my years. In time, I became the one of the youngest Vice Presidents, and the first woman to be promoted to VP in the company's history. The company grew at an amazing clip, and the hours and energy I gave it went along in tandem.

My career had some "learning spots" over my second decade with this great company. I transitioned into other roles, with other bosses, managed challenges, accomplished cool things, and was proud. I was blessed with a third child ten years after my first, and had by then mastered the world of establishing a super "at home team" to help with the children, the housework, and other life activities.

On nearing my 20th anniversary with the company, I had a dream that I would leave. The dream felt crazy, almost in an unbelievable psychedelic realm at the time. Then again, in the web 2.0 world, my brand had grown outside of the company's walls. I was speaking at least once a month on podiums around the country on leading edge work. I was leaning outside of the company, as much as I was leaning in. Ultimately, when the "knock on my door" came from the head of HR, I was intellectually and emotionally ready. I was offered the opportunity to take on, or design, a new role at the company, or ... and it wasn't said outright, there was the option to negotiate a departure. Oddly, I had to bury my smile on the thought of leaving, and doing something new. I didn't launch a political battle like I would have in the past. I didn't even ask any clarifying questions. In a matter of days I simply negotiated my exit, hugged the HR leader, and traveled the building sharing my gratitude and warm good-byes.

And just like that, my new job began -- with a clear if bewildering magnetic pull.

BEWILDERING

Then the bewildering part happened. I became more interested in my mom life than I did in my professional life.

When the nanny gave her notice, I didn't follow up with a single applicant on her replacement. I still haven't.

I signed up to help in the kids classrooms, joined my first book club, the local gym, and started learning what the life of a stay-at-home mom was all about.

I remember thinking how much harder this life was -- truly. Three kids, three different schools, three different bus times, activity schedules, homework, friendships and dramas, and other life demands. Day begins at sunrise, and ends after 9pm. Squeeze in some professional work in the middle, while learning the new cultural norms and dialect* of stay-at-home moms, and the day is LONG.

GUILT

While I was learning this new job -- the "most important job you'll have have," yada yada yada ... I was consumed with guilt. Guilt for not working more. Guilt for what felt like letting my professional persona atrophy. Guilt for not working on stuff as cool as my professional friends. Guilt for not getting on Twitter, for not blogging often, for hardly ever getting on email.

People that mattered to me in my professional life told me to "Stop feeling guilty!" To live life, and enjoy.

The Epiphany and The Power

A year and a half into this "mom life," accompanied throughout by a very part-time professional career, I had an epiphany. I came to realize it would have been unconscionable for me to have jumped into another full-time job. I had been given a gift. My negotiated exit from the great company left me free of near-term financial worry. Thus, I had a powerful ability to be with my children -- if I could find the courage to take the time off from professional work, and risk all I had achieved. I took that power.

The Power to Be a Mom

Who says that? Who thinks that? ... in professional circles, that is.

Well, I did. Being a mom is powerful. How sad, I think now, that I might have gone through my life without knowing the full dimension of momness. To be ALL IN IT. ... When they were still of the age to need me. ... When I still had the energy to be with them, fully.

SO WHAT?

Perhaps to some readers of this blog, the actions I made toward embracing this "mom opportunity" would be a big "so what."

But to me, finding the courage to do what felt like throwing away all you had loved for the prior two decades about your work, and potentially all you had achieved, was a very, very big deal. I'm still mustering the courage to keep doing my current job, majoring in momness.

I'm a bit afraid I've let too much time slip. I've let professional relationships slide. I might not be as marketable as I was. And then there are the forward planning worries, about things like money.

At the same time, I'm proud of this time.

My 16 year-old daughter has brought me great joy. This past year and a half, I've been "all in it" with the onset of a boyfriend, college prep navigation, drivers ed, and helping give her the courage to follow her professional dreams. My eyes well up now as I watch this once shy child sing in front of stunned crowds.

My 9 year-old daughter has surprised me by being an amazingly diligent student, a dedicated money-maker on her reward "star chart;" and shocked me by being a bossy and often demanding kid around the house. When she was two years old, I nicknamed her the CEO. Well, I'm seeing the trend continue.

My 6 year-old son has been the biggest learning. Boys are different, #1. Secondly, school doesn't come as easily to him so our days begin with 1x1 reading time together. What was fully "out of my toolbox" a year ago, teaching a bucking boy to read and care about schoolwork, has become my favorite part of the day.

It has been powerful, indeed. Unexpected, too. I keep asking outloud, "Who is this person?" But then I laugh it off as an adventure, a risk, a challenge, and a time filled with love. The type of things that the Polly I know gets a kick out of.

Happy International Women's Day from a woman blazing an unexpected journey, and working hard to remind herself just how powerful this time is. Worry never got anyone anywhere, right?

-------------- TALK BACK -------------

I welcome your take. And I also welcome more professional women coming out of the mom closet to profess their passion for that part of their life, too. All too often, we hide our "momness."

* RE: dialect of stay-at-home moms. I had a friend once tell me that I often acted "half-man," understandable, she said, given all the time I spend with men in the workplace. She was right. I had to un-man and learn to be much more womanly if I wanted to hang out more with gal-pals.

March 06, 2012

I just finished reading the Time Magazine feature on Steve Jobs and his leadership style titled, "What Would Steve Do?" The article reiterated Job's passion for the PRODUCT, more than the PROFIT-- and discussed this point in contrast to the to the profit-focused curriculum norms at business schools, and profit-dominated drive of companies.

Putting today's norms aside, if you could re-write the rules, which would you want to be the first priority of your CEO/management team? And, continuing with the TIME theme, what then should we be teaching our next generation of leaders?

Would you like them to focus on the money they're making?

The customers they are serving?

The product they are creating?

The value their product/service provides to customers?

The impact they are having on our planet?

Or -- let's get really bold now -- would you like them to care about YOU?

Was that last point meant to say, "Care about the people of the company as the TOP priority?" Crazy right? Even Steve Jobs didn't do that.

One of the most exciting experiences I've had recently was getting to know the leadership of a B-2-B company who believes being centric to the people of the business is the way to go. They are positioning their organization to do more of it. I believe they are a benchmark for ....

The Future of Work -- and Workplace Fulfillment.

... a company that is people-owned, people-focused, delivers amazing and technically brilliant services by its people, and where its people create terrific products that add undeniable value to their customers and the employees of those customers.

Who is this company?

EPI-USE. They are a global IT services and software company. You likely don't know the name (they are private, after all) -- but I'm telling you now they are a company which should be written about like Zappos or Netflix is discussed in terms of people- and culture-centric management. I literally wanted to pinch myself when hearing line leaders in the field talk about the culture and what they wanted to build more of (modern, 2.0-type empowerment; voice; family-caring; employee wellness in every way; mentoring; no bureaucracy or foolish HR policies, connections with employee alumni and families). The leader of the Americas business and the global CEO had the same to say and then some, with passion and conviction that this was the way to build a lasting and even more successful company.

On reading this TIME piece on Jobs, and seeing Apple on top of the FORTUNE Most Admired list, I could only think of the old BusinessWeek/Sports Illustrated legend -- you know, the one that says once you're "on the cover," you are likely in the process of jumping the shark. What if that's right? Could a people-centric model have the power to topple a product-centric model? It would certainly tie with what we're seeing elsewhere, ala the rise of social; global empowerment and voice of the people; the transition to services at leading product companies (IBM, HP), relationship-centric marketing, Millennial work styles, and more.

The EPI-USE people "get" the drivers of good work (like respect, recognition, trust, and work aligned to talent and passion), they also get virtual workforces, global work, customer-focus, sustainable business success (they've been profitably growing for 27 years) and -- perhaps most importantly -- what is important to well-being of their people and their families. And they want more of it!

They have prioritized this focus to such a degree that they are looking for an executive to lead the growth of this type of culture and people-centric management programs. They want someone to help them run the company for the 99% of people who are smart, empowered, and care about the customers, and products, and the well-being of their peers, vs. the 1% of crazies that most companies focus on in their HR policies and actions.

If you're interested in that job, read more about it here. And if you are technical talent, put them on your radar. It seems like a dreamy environment -- where the focus is NOT about revenue and profit and wall street -- it is about working with brilliant people who care about you, solving tough problems and delighting your customers with the services you provide and/or the products you build. They do this because they know it drives business success.

----------- TALK BACK -----------

Of course, I love profit and great products, too -- and the full list of areas CEOs should focus on. I also love the idea of executives not being heartless jerks to their people -- and actually seeing that if they lead with connecting with their people, the likelihood they'll get higher levels of customer satisfaction, revenue and profit is much greater. I look forward to seeing more companies like EPI-USE give this "new" model a try.

I'm reminded of that book, "All I Really Needed To Know [to be successful lin life] I Learned in Kindergarten." I don't think money made the top of that list, either.

February 01, 2012

What is the dominant skill set in your communication group -- or in your company, for that matter? Among your public relations, internal communications, web site content, and even sales, finance, human resources, and legal type of work -- what percentage of the work deploys written communication? Let me guess, they're sending emails and text messages, drafting contracts, writing news releases, creating PowerPoints, updating the web site text, creating data sheets, putting together a newsletter or a blog post ... all good. But what is missing?

VISUAL COMMUNICATION

I believe visual communication skills should comprise at least half of your focus if you want to connect with your audience. Example: Twitter stat -- Tweets with a photo get a 70% higher read rate.

When people get home from work, you know they're spending at least half their time getting information and entertainment visually (TV, face to face talk, YouTube, the multi-media mix of Facebook) than via the written word (magazines, newspapers, blog posts, text). This is the way they enjoy getting information -- in a mixture. Reading all words, all day, makes for a dull day. Why does the business environment need to continue to deliver information in an old-fashioned way?

It used to make sense, basing most of what we wanted to say in text form. Heck, it was too expensive to do it the other way, and nifty, inexpensive photo, video, and telecommunication technology did not yet exist. Today, every iphone can take a photo, video, edit, and upload to a free YouTube channel in a matter of minutes. The cost to store and distribute digital content has fallen through the floor. What are you waiting for?

"The Medium is the Message."

I believe the communication, sales and executive office departments of the future will hire people with visual communication skill sets more often than not. People with on-camera and on-stage skills, people with photography, and video skills. And editing skills!! There will also be dedicated Strategic Content Editors, of a sort, who can mix the right potion of photo, video, live drama, and text to get the message across in a compelling way. To quote the decades-ago communication guru Marshall Mcluhan, the "Medium is the Message." *

What is the stat? 90% of communication is interpersonal? People need to see body language to best connect.

How are your executives doing in the realm of non-written communication? Still a memo a minute? Is your communication leader helping to turn the boat?

INSPIRING EXAMPLES

For internal communication: I love John Chambers of Cisco's take on this. Current image crisis aside, I think he is on to something by doing short video blogs to his team (and inviting dialog back!). They're a heck of a lot faster to craft than a written memo. And -- they convey intent and body language that just doesn't come across in email. Best of all, it takes the speechwriter out of the equation. A friend of mine (that's you Chuck Hollis!) has a great saying: "Oats always look better when they go into the horse than when they come out." Too many people messing with a message gets, well, messy.

For mass-market communication: I love the near-lack of words in Steve Jobs presentations. They are centered on visuals, and the person delivering the message.

For targeted external communication: I love how EMC subject matter experts create tech white board talks and post them on YouTubefor anyone to see. What a help for a customer, a partner, or a sales prospect to be able to quickly "see" a walk-through of how something works, rather than fish around and spend the time reading a ton of data sheets or news releases that wouldn't do the job half as well. For a more bizarre and entertaining version of this concept -- see this Chad's World nod to the old cult comedy movie, "Wayne's World."

For communication to your devoted followers: I love how companies have added social launches and social news releases, where they include candid video, telling photos, and bulleted text -- along with the traditional news releases for the traditional folks (whoever they may be) -- to convey the news, and make better connections. You can find examples of these here.

A challenge, and a best practice with all of the above to is to work to make all communication a two-way street. Build in a way for your target audience to easily share information back with you if you truly want to make a connection. Because, as my old communication coach taught me, "Communication is a Connection Sport."

----------------- Talk Back ------------

How is your company doing in the transition from a written world to a multi-media world when it comes to connecting with your target audience?

It is okay if you are behind. Heck, I am behind. I should have done this post with a short video clip to go with it. While I know that would ultimately be FASTER to do than write this all out, for now there is still a learning curve, a comfort curve and oddly a vanity curve (video feels a bit vain for the broadcaster, doesn't it?) for even folks like me to overcome. This post is meant to be a peek into the future. The sooner we all start the journey, the better our careers, and our company-connection-with-the-target-audience will be. Yes?

* In writing this post, I came to find out that Marshall McLuhan was a professor at Saint Louis University. Oddly enough, that is where I studied communication and became wise to his words.

PS: My thanks to Alan, Learning and Development head at Children's Hospital, who prompted me to write this post. His son is a videographer, and I shared my belief that video is an essential skill set for successful communication groups today. Companies "who get it" should hire video and photo folks as often as they hire traditional writers or PR folks.

January 25, 2012

I scratch my head to this day that my professional life currently sits at the intersection of brand, culture and human resources. How did a business-centric, brand relations pro get caught up in HR?

Luck, mostly. But I'm convinced that those three elements, together, are key to making a major impact in the modern organization. With social-everything, the power of your company brand is in the hands of "the people" more than ever. Are your people and your culture included in your brand strategy? They better be.

Branding, and what your brand shouts, needs to start in the heart of your organization.

Really?

I was delighted to see a post this week in FastCompany.com called, "Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch" by Shawn Parr ("The Guvner & CEO of Bulldog Drummond,") which outlines how the skills and disciplines of each of these areas come together to make magic.

I've been involved in big brand work both with, and without, the people/culture/HR side of the equation as part of the strategy. When the "brand people" alone were involved, we could show the optics of success, but the emotions of the people never came along for the ride. That oversight set us up for years of pain internally, and years of "two-or three-sides-to-the-story" in front of customers.

The next time I addressed the brand subject in a big, concerted, way, I was involved from the inside, in a Total Customer Experience role that bridged both marketing, business analytics folks, and human resources, and looked at our behavior from the eyes of the customer. This also brought great results, and won back a ton of business -- but, candidly it wore the cloak of a corporate initiative more than it wore the sustained cultural fabric of passion. Like most corporate initiatives, it started with a bang, and wore on over time.

The third time was a charm, and personal favorite. It focused on the people of the company, and enabled them to BE the brand. Human Resources, Marketing and Passionate Employees Everywhere had the big seats at the table for this work. The approach took significantly fewer budget dollars, was more fun (even for the customers, prospects, and potential employees) and continues to offer sustainable, visible impact. Unlike a classic corporate initiative, this approach starts nicely, and grows sweeter over time.

Brand always begins on the inside. The smart companies, IMHO, take the time to embrace that reality.

Suggestion: Elevate your brand by getting to know your true brand first. The one your employees either praise or swear at. Include your employees in your vision and brand goals. Then enjoy it as THEY make it theirs, and make it happen with more glory than your millions can buy.

--------------- TALK BACK ------------------

Any great brand building tips or strategies for the new era from you?

Serendipitously enough, as I was image searching for a photo to add to this post, I found this blog post, "Culture Isn't Enough," on the same subject by the fascinating Denise Lee Yohn. Excellent read.

September 11, 2011

He added a nice, updated package of research and meat to the subject of social media at work, including case studies and/or interviews with the likes of Salesforce.com, Adidas, Domino's, Zappos, ING, Ford, Rypple, Zaarly, and Yammer ... as well as management gurus Gary Hamel, Shoshana Zuboff.

------ Talk Back ------

What are some of the fresh stories you're hearing about companies who "get" this new transparent world ? Who is doing it right in the workplace?

If you were writing the book on this subject, what company case studies would you like to see added?

Thanks for joining the discussion.

Thanks also for tuning in after my long summer break. Where have I been? Remember summer vacations before you started working? The type where you could swim, bike ride, eat ice-cream, or hike all day if you wanted? Well, that's where I was since the end of June. My husband and I took the summer off (!) with our three kids. We played all day, every day. We were enjoying family warmth, love, and making memories in the un-Twitter zone.

June 30, 2011

Just last night I was chatting over friendly cocktails with a group of amazingly intelligent women when I realized one of the women was looking at me like I had two heads. Her contribution to the conversation went like this, "I am a very private person. I realize some day I'll have to understand this social media space, but ..."

The day for people and organizations to start understanding this space, if they haven't made the move yet, may well be today.

Those who participate in social media for business today liken social media to the Internet in the mid- to late-1990s. The web back then, simply became where the marketplace wanted to get their information, and buy their goods.

Following the famous adoption curve, I'd make a stab that if 1992-1998 represented the bulk of the early adopters and early majority of conducting business on the web (where their business was able to be found on the web, as well as in the yellow pages), that 2007-2013 represents the bulk of the early adopters and early majority of conducting business via social media (where companies are having a presence, sharing information, and building two-way relationships with the marketplace using social technology). Again, just a stab -- but the trajectory is indisputable in my book.

So What?

The big "so what" here is that the train has left the building and is moving fast to the "also ran" side of the bell curve. In a tough and fast moving information economy, there may be less room for "also rans."

Why Allow Social Media at Work?

Some Risks to Ignoring (ROI) observations.

If you don't, you risk becoming out of step and irrelevant with the marketplace over the next 5 years. You might as well speak fluent Latin.

If you don't, you risk an inability to get the best talent. That's right. The external market expects to be able to use every resource available to help them get their job done today. For the savvy talent, that includes making contact with resources, and collecting real-time content via LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, SlideShare, and more. If this talent arrives at your company and finds you don't trust them to use these tools responsibly, they will leave you as soon as they can.

If you don't, you risk your competitors beating you to where the fish are now swimming.

Why Allow Social Media at Work?

Some Return on Investment (ROI) observations:

Revenue Growth. Business starts with brand awareness. They can't buy from you if they don't know who you are. Your people, if allowed, will help build your brand awareness. Non quota-carrying personnel will also start bringing in leads, and elevating customer satisfaction.

Productivity and Profitability. Did you know that the latest research boils employee satisfaction down to having the ability to "make progress" at work? Social media, when deployed internally, is none other than a massive roadblock remover. Have an idea and want to see if it stinks before you elevate it? Post the idea on the internal network. Watch good ideas get into the fast lane, bullet-proofed, and be ready for global prime-time in 1/100th of the time it takes without social media.

Greatness. The folks behind the FORTUNE MOST ADMIRED COMPANIES list say the one factor that contributes the most to companies being on the list is the ability to excel at cross-silo communication.

"But Social Media Has Risks, Employees Can Act Dumb, and we have Regulatory Concerns."

Yup. Get over it. Figure it out. Red Cross is figuring it out. As is ETrade, Marriott, EMC, Kodak, Ford, SAP, and zillions of other companies. Cisco is even saying that they plan to phase out email for its employees. Guess they're figuring it out -- and pushing the boundary even further.

----------------- Talk Back -------------------

What are your thoughts on the state of social media for work (stage on the adoption cycle?) and the state of adoption of social media at work (allowing and enabling employees to use social media)?

What companies are doing things well?

Is your company in the state of Risk of Ignoring ROI, or Return on Investment ROI?

June 14, 2011

The most intimidating assignment I ever had was to figure out a way to get a large, disenchanted workforce to get charged up with the company strategy, and trust management again. (Note: I found investors and media to be comparatively easy in this regard -- but EMPLOYEES? They don't want to be told, and they can't be sold, right?)

I believe I found the keys to that kingdom.

In fact, discovering how to solve this challenge became one of the most rewarding times of my career.

Many of my findings are played out in Daniel Pink's book "Drive," covering the surprising science behind motivation. I just found this great clip today, which consolidates his book down to 10 minutes of solid, (and entertaining), information. Watch it. Share it.

This new way of managing unleashes the global genius, elicits passion and motivation from your workforce, and blows through the roof the ROI you get on your headcount investment.

In a study published by Harvard last year, it, similarly, found that the number one motivating factor to employees is simply to "make progress" on the job. Not money. But actually being able to do what they think should be done -- and be freed of the roadblocks that crush passion, enthusiasm, and drive in its tracks.

Here are my conclusions and guiding principles for inspiring your workforce, getting them engaged with the strategy, believing in leadership, and elevating company results:

Treat your employees like adults, and lead with "trust."Your employees aren't kids. Let's stop treating them that way. They're trained critical thinkers, many with advanced degrees. They don't want to be fired. They actually want the company to be successful. Help them help you. Give them more ownership and more respect. Lead with trust. Avoid penalizing the 99% of your people who will help, because of the 1% who might hurt.

"Include," rather than "Tell."Include your people in the questions you're trying to solve, and let them help you come up with the best answer. Give them a means to share and contribute beyond doing what their manager has asked them to do, and beyond listening to your PowerPoints. By participating in the decision making process, they'll be more apt to support the conclusion and you will get a better and faster result. And just wait until you hear the contribution your introverts can make to the business! Right now, their voices are silent to you. What they have to say will change your world.

Step out of the way.Once your people know the "why" and the "what," do them a favor and get out of the way. Let your people get to work on making progress and helping your company be great. Measure on results, rather the micro-managing the hows.

Social networking tools -- and the behaviors that come with them -- are a GIFT to management teams everywhere. They invite cross-silo communication and collaboration; community and culture building; speed and company agility; remote team interaction; innovation; and any initiative the company wishes to launch.

Social networking tools and behaviors help you get a 10x bang for the buck from your headcount cost. Why? Because people are not limited to their job descriptions on internal social networks. As a result, you get passionate and knowledgeable workers contributing in unexpected places with wonderfully unexpected results. Think Wikipedia for your business.

--------------- Talk Back -----------------

When were you the most psyched up on the job? When you made the most money, or were given the ability, freedom, and respect to apply your wisdom on the job?

Where is your company on this journey?

If you need a third party to come in and talk with your management team about this new way of motivating and bringing in the business results, you know how to find me.

April 28, 2011

I participated in an executive round-table with the senior HR officers of some MAJOR companies recently. Everyone went around the room and shared their current challenges. I was amazed how often employment branding came up. In fact, I think every executive mentioned the need for better branding of their company to help recruit, retain and/or engage their workforce. Even companies you and I would think of as truly great companies, cited better branding as a priority need. If you are in this situation, here are some things that might bring you some peace of mind, or a way to begin your journey on improving your company's employment brand.

1. Know that every company is dysfunctional and/or sub-optimal in some way. Actually, in many ways! So while you think your company has more warts than you can count, that makes your company normal. :)

2. Every company has one or more truly compelling attributes. Not "unique." Unique does not matter. "Compelling" matters.

3. A great way to begin unearthing what makes your company compelling is to ask your employees what inspires them about your company, and what makes them proud to work there. A good way to ask that question is in a one-on-one format with a cross section of your company's employee base -- across divisions, silos, geographies, age spans, etc. I bet a pattern will begin to emerge from the answers. You'll hear the same phrases or concepts from many, if not most or all, of those questioned. The patterns in the answers are the foundation of your true employment brand.

For example, let's say a company named "Magenta" had a management team who felt its image in the marketplace wasn't so hot. They might feel the market looked at their company as boring, niche, silo'd, in a bad location, and/or cheap with pay and perks. Just as bad, the management team might think the market has never heard of the company, and that it has nothing much that could be considered special or marketable.

Wrong.

Let's re-visit the points made above for this situation.

1. Yes, "Magenta Company" has a lot of things about it that are a drag, many of which the market knows about. Big deal. Every company has issues.

2. "Magenta Company" has many compelling attributes. It just needs to realize what these are.

3. If "Magenta Company" asked a sample set of its employees (between 1 and 2 dozen people) what inspired them about the company, and what made them proud to work there, what they might hear back would be phrases like,

"I get to work on challenging problems here."

"I work with truly smart people."

"Our company is making a difference. We ___ (fill in the blank)____."

Do you see what Magenta could be embracing here? What is truly compelling about its brand offering as a place to work and as a corporate culture? Magenta is the ideal company for smart people, who love to be empowered to solve problems, make things happen, and make a difference.

Wow. That's compelling to a lot of people out there. After a dozen or more interviews, it will become clear to you what your compelling or stand out offering(s) is as a place to work. Work that pattern into a value proposition that is worded from the perspective of the talent market.

I define a "value proposition" as, "The benefit exceeds the cost."

"The perspective of the talent market" means that your value proposition should center on what THEY get from working for your company, not who your company is and why your company is so great (for investors, potential customers, etc.)

---------- Okay, so those are the basics of your employment brand foundation. Next steps would be validating and refining the compelling aspects with the informal influencers, and the formal influencers inside your company, while also having honest conversations about what would make your company more compelling (ie. what is not good, and needs to be upgraded) as a place to work. You would then share the findings, and get to work on fanning the flames of the good, while bettering all that could be better.

During the "next steps" phase, remember that your people are your best branding mechanism and medium. Invite them into the process, and avoid at all cost having this be an initiative driven into the company by a chosen few (like you and your team.) "The Chosen Few" can be in the lead, design the framework, and make the final calls, but making this an inclusive, two-way process will enhance the final product (actually, it should be considered an "on-going living product"), and accelerate branding results faster than you could ever imagine.

Inclusive employment branding (what's in it for ME, as an employee), quickly evolves to a deeper sense of culture and community ("all about 'ME,'" transitions to" pride for 'US'") -- the latter is the foundation for your full company's brand identity, and your offering to the marketplace (the revenue driver.) This latter part is what will build stronger and deeper ties with your customers and potential customers. This is when every employee actually fills a role now taken primarily by your sales force and your CEO -- giving you a heck of a lot more from your S&GA expense line. Think ROI. Your payroll is already a huge sum. Why not work to get more return from that investment by enabling all of your employees to add to the affinity the market has for you. Be that the talent market, the local community surrounding your facilities, or the market of organizations who may want to buy what you have to offer.

When your people are carrying forth your brand values and identity every day, the need for a dedicated "initiative," budget, and weekly meetings on your part diminishes. Now, doesn't THAT sound nice?!

----------------- Talk Back -------------------

How does that framework on the basics sound to you?

Have you had success doing something similar? If so, how? Share your story.

If you could use some help positioning how this journey might unfold for your leadership team -- or seeing the bigger picture of "being" a great company in addition to "getting great company awards," contact me. I'd be happy to help. Because achieving branding success is fun, and truly making companies more invigorating, inclusive and thus more productive, innovative and awesome places to work, is even better.

Passionate people are productive people. And productive people make companies more profitable. That's what I think, anyway.

April 07, 2011

Has everything been said that needs to be said about social media for marketing, and its bottom-line impact?

Not even close. Pick this book up to see what I'm talking about. The Power of Real-Time Social Media Marketing.How to Attract and Retain Customers and Grow the Bottom Line in the Globally Connected World. It is fresh off the presses by McGraw-Hill.

I had the pleasure to collaborate on this hot subject with the authors, Beverly Macy and Teri Thompson, and was impressed by the case studies they gathered, and the the approach they took in exploring the subject.

Want a taste? Check out this article, The Global Brain, Chaos Theory, and the Power of Real-Time Social Media, in the Huffington Post.

Last night I was a guest lecturer at the Boston University School of Management's MBA program. The topic was crowdsourcing. Many of the MBAs seemed doubtful this could be applied within a mainstream company. Sure, the model works for http://www.threadless.com/, but, mainstream companies? Or the company THEY worked for?

With the MBAs, I gave real-world, ROI-rich examples how social media -- and the power of the global genius -- can be leveraged for innovation, cost savings, revenue, customer satisfaction, product enhancements, culture building, branding, and perception management in a FORTUNE 500 setting. Learn more about the case I shared by reading this book (the work I was involved in at EMC is a major feature), or by hiring me directly to come speak with your management team. ;)

April 06, 2011

When you present what you're attempting to accomplish at work, do you discuss it in terms that the CEO would care about?

Come on now, does s/he really care about getting you more headcount, or performance management, succession planning, learning & development agendas, corporate culture ... or employment branding for that matter? Yes, and no. Mostly, those topics are boring. Necessary evils.

When talking about your important little program, expect the CEO to listen, nod, and smile politely -- while s/he secretly can't wait for you to leave the room so they can get to work on the truly important things. Like closing deals which will generate revenue. Or consulting with the folks who help enhance the company's profit margins. Or doing media interviews. Or reading positive press about the company. Or delighting in an "up" day for the company stock. See a pattern here?

You know what the CEO really cares about?

I boil it down to three things:

Growing ...

1. Revenue

2. Admiration

3. Profit

RAP for short.

Now, admiration may look like an odd one in the mix. When I think of admiration, I think of everything that can help build the value, and perceived value, of the company. (Public company CEOs have a top goal of improving shareholder value; they also generally have egos which drive them to win -- and a stock price is a VERY public score card.) While it would be gauche for a CEO to admit it, they love to get admiration from their industry peers, employees, customers, shareholders, competitors, and next door neighbors. They need not be shy about this desire. All that admiration is contagious, and it works to build the brand, the value, and start the next funnel of revenue generation.

Are you playing the admiration card enough? Subtly of course, but don't forget to include it on your "TO DO" list if you want to impress the boss and do something that matters to those concerned with building value, or perceived value, of the company.

So if you're working to "get a seat at the big table," or trying to get your pet initiative off the ground, remember to RAP it, if you want to get the attention of the CEO.

-------------------- TALK BACK ---------------------------

Of all the presentations you saw this week, how many tied the goal back to what needs to be done for the bottom line health and vitality of the business?

I spent 15 years working directly for FORTUNE 500 CEOs. Maybe it was just the ones I worked with, but I saw what got their juices flowing, and what didn't. And let me tell you this, they LOVED it when the value of their company was higher than their number one competitor.

If you happen to be in the C-suite and could use more help in the RAP department, contact me. Helping CEOs and Companies become bigger than they really are in the eyes of the world is my favorite thing to do.

One such presentation has stayed with me. It offered insight I had not yet stumbled upon in my career. It came from a woman who had successfully started, and sold, many businesses. She sat on elite Boards. She was the vision of confidence and success.

She began by pointing out that most of us were likely in a go-go-growth career stage. And then she said, "It won't always be like that, but that's okay. You will find that your career has seasons. It won't -- it can't -- always be all growth, all the time."

She told a story of selling a business, and then her husband falling on ill health. Her girlfriends tried to pry her out of the house with Martini's, and instructions to "Take some Valium and get on with it!" (You can guess her approximate age by that statement!) She did not however, and that was the point.

She said that Spring needs to be followed by Fall, and Winter, to get Spring again. She said it is important to "feel" these seasons as they happen and know that they are perfectly natural.

"Wow," I remember whispering to myself.

It makes so much sense, doesn't it? We're organic creatures. And yet, how is it possible that this isn't core wisdom in the world of work?

I suspect it is because we're all raised to continually move up, like rungs on a ladder. Be more. Get more. Better grades, better placement on the team. Promotions. Manager, leads to Director, which leads to Vice President, and onward, right?

Now that I'm almost half-way through my 40's, I see career pauses everywhere. (Fabulous women in the mom-zone are especially vulnerable.) And it seems everyone is always FREAKED out about it.

If you're in that boat, take a breath. You're a living creature. Things are always changing. You can get back on the race horse at any moment. But even race horses need a rest now and then.

------------------ Talk Back ------------------

Make sense?

I was inspired to share this story by my mom. She has been writing our family history lately, and took particular pride sharing a short story she wrote about her father. It was the "Great Depression,"and he was a Jukebox repairman. She wrote of her childhood with him, the twirly stools she sat on eating pastries in the "joints" he'd have to visit, and the rolls of coins he would give her. He was a king beyond words in her eyes.

She never once wrote of his life before the Depression. His full-length fur coats, his bachelor year of residence in the swankiest hotel in Boston. His thriving career as a stock broker.

No, she cherished what he must have thought of as his own winter deep freeze.

Design for design-sake is fun, but what about utility of the old networking standby?

How do you USE business cards (not give out, but use the ones you get?)

When I was 21, I started my own business. I created what I thought were the coolest business cards ever. They cost a fortune, had a fold-over design element, and looked gorgeous. But did they matter? Were they worth the cost? I don't think so, in retrospect.

In the Corporate HQ world on the "buying" side, I witnessed little value assigned to business cards given out, beyond helping those around the conference table remember the names of the other people in the meeting. Mind you, that was very useful!

The best business card I ever saw had its value, not from what was printed on it, but from the personal gesture the owner made by writing his home phone number on the back of the card. He was a CEO, and wanted his customers to know how important they were to him, and how available he would be for them.

Before eager B-school grads, I, or anyone else spends time and effort on a cool new card, could you help answer the question on business card use, and value, .... in today's world?

I'd love your take.

How do you use business cards? (Not give them out, but USE them.)

Are they still relevant in the way you work, and hire people?

What is an ideal business card to hand to people who generally lose them, who get too much email, and who may or may not be active in the social media world?

A friend of mine re-set my perspective on business cards recently when she said, "I don't give them out in a networking setting any more. I share my name, and something to remember me by. They can Google me, and find me a lot faster than looking for a card."

Humm.

That said, I'm tempted to get some new cards made. Some people still like to get them, as do I -- I just don't tend to be good at SAVING the cards in a useful manner, or USING them at all. You?

I'd love your take.

----------------- Talk Back -----------------

If you were to create the ideal business card from the perspective of having the card be USEFUL to you, (as the recipient). and ACTIONABLE to you (the recipient), what would your input be for the creation of a great card?

And if you're in the design, or business card business and would like to experiment on me, I'd welcome your help and insight as well!

February 18, 2011

In a memo to Time employees, it was declared that CEO "Griffin's 'leadership style' was the reason for his ouster. Examples, so says the Wall Street Journal? His leading with his own ego (at great expense to the company, and at an absurd conflict the company's culture), and calling meetings at times fully disrespectful to the lives of the employees.

Wow.

I've long said that at the answer to, "What to do about this omnipresent social media phenomenon and the world of work," is based in "behavior" more than "technology."

Think about the behavior we are now surrounded by in our daily lives. It is in-congruent with the style found in workplace cultures aligned solely with hierarchical leadership-driven "command and control."

We are living in an era where our population has been "trained" to participate.

Here is the deal -- leadership has been too slow to welcome participative workplaces. And guess what happened while CEOs have been goaling their companies to be a "best place to work" while still not changing leadership styles?

The Baby Is Born.

PHOTO: A very special baby.

In Egypt, I am taken with the quote, "the baby is born," from NEWSWEEK article titled "Rage Against the Regime"written in the midst of the uprising. Within this article, 44 year-old Egyptian journalist Gameela Ismail is quoted as saying,

"But the good part of it is that, you know, the baby was born! Finally, finally, the people feel confident that they can do something good, that they can show their anger, they can call ‘Down with Mubarak!’ They broke this barrier of fear—so the baby is born. Will it be a girl? A boy? Breast-fed or powder milk? How will we raise it? What school will it go to? That we do not know yet. But the baby is born.”

What Will Happen Next at Workplaces Globally

Socially-driven uprisings will happen in workplaces who have not yet tapped into the newly collaborative model of work. At risk are workplaces who do not recognize that their employees are adults -- adults who have ideas, who are close to customers, and who want to help their companies be more successful.

For years, maybe even decades, these employees have been "eating it." They've lived their job descriptions and put up with it when their ideas were ignored and squashed, when they see ignorant plays called, when they spend personal time writing status reports that they suspect no one is reading. They've been complaining at neighborhood barbeque's, sure, but that was about it. They were powerless to do anything more.

But now, there are new models for them to vet -- and vent -- their ideas.

So, what will you do? Ignore it? Or get ahead of it so you can work WITH this awesome power of passion? I see the choice as to get to know this new world, and participate in it, so that you can be the leader the workplace so desires -- or to have it ignore you. New leaders will emerge, with or without you.

--------------- TALK BACK ---------------------

Do you see it?

I have never seen anything more clearly in my professional life.

And it doesn't have to be bad. It can -- and wants to be -- GREAT.

The new participative model, with your great assistance, can make fast and informed decisions, it can generate revenue while you sleep, transform your customers into passionate and profitable advocates, and can move your brand into the spotlight with none of the old Madison Avenue tricks or expenses.

I have worked at the heart of the goodness of "social transformation at work," and can help you see and take the path, if you need help. It does take a tad of courage. Know it can be done, easier and faster than you think.

PS: The baby shown happens to be mine. My third born; a natural leader, well-nurtured, and filled with awesome potential.

------------ UPDATE ----------------

Monday, March 7th. NPR may see it too -- though they took the leap to include Charlie Sheen.

In the article, "Charlie Sheen a bellwether for what's next," Michel Martin writes,

"And I know this: He is not the first and will not be the last person to want to tell his boss to stuff it. He will not, in these times when loyalty to employees is nonexistent, be the last to point out inconveniently that however much he is being paid, his bosses are making that much more from the fruits of his labor. He will not be the last to believe, as many people seem to think in many other fields of endeavor, that he can do whatever he wants — sexually, financially, to other people's retirement accounts — as long as he is bringing in the cash. And while I personally don't think his behavior is healthy for his five kids to witness, is it any worse than seeing your parents humiliated by long-term unemployment? But a million people aren't tweeting about that, are they?"

February 11, 2011

As this post is longer than normal, I'll start it by noting that its contents link the recent nature gone wild; the social movement; new forms of emerging leadership; the might, time, effort, and love it takes to move the entrenched; 2012; and the beauty that will be sure to follow, to those who let it come to them with peaceful determination.

******************************************

I have often written about -- and experienced to a profound extent -- the concept of "Leaders at Every Level." I believe it is the way of the future. It is undeniable. It is a great change that has come, in part, from the level of education, reach, and technology that we have now in the world. The days of simply telling our workers what to do, and having leadership and decisions be in the hands of the corner office, alone, are gone.

What does all this mean?

My journey since leaving the world of "big business" about six months ago has taken me by surprise. I found myself spending endless hours in a massive garden I had started months earlier on common land in my neighborhood. It was was a far greater draw to me than my prior world -- which, thanks to the social web I had become so fully entrenched in, was still there for me, just a keystroke away.

When nature froze over my garden come November, I was hopeful that I would again yearn to return to my prior world of connected-go-go. Instead, I found amazing joy in playing with my family. Skiing, skating, building fires, and hosting large family gatherings.

This was ever more curious as business inquiries kept coming my way, and I have a coach fully paid for and available to me, and yet I have hardly taken advantage of this. "Why?," I wondered in my dreams.

A quote I heard a long time ago brought me some peace of mind:

"Sometimes, you have to stop "go-going toward your goals and simply lie down, be peaceful, and let it come to you."

This quote has become my solace.

Today, at the school bus stop with my kids, a neighbor said to me,

"You know you have a giant heart on your roof."

"What?" I replied.

"My daughter Kaitlin, saw it this morning. Come. Look."

PHOTO: Can you see it? Like a giant sign from above?

Immediately I was brought back to an encounter I had last week with none other than a Shaman from Santa Fe. We were in Columbia, under the warmth of the sun, as he told this group of successful global women about the time of great aggression we were in -- of the period that will preface a new order. And with that matter-of-fact-centered-state, he began to offer some perspective that synced with what I have been experiencing and witnessing. Without saying the catch phrases, he was discussing the time of "Leaders at Every Level," the power of "Social," and "Crowdsourcing," and he put these things into a greater context given the centuries old predictions about 2012, etc. He likened this time as a giant construction site. It said it would continue to be messy, dirty, and confusing. And, like a great construction project, one day a bright shiny new building will be standing there. He sees this time as a change in the dominance of the Patriarch -- of the male ruler. The movements now are the by people for a common goal, rather than a personal agenda. He also shared some fairly profound, slightly scary, and tremendously exciting views -- but that should be an entirely different post.

Back To My Journey; and My Garden.

I started this massive garden project in the fall of 2009. I had been attempting to plant some beauty on a hillside of weeds that faced my house for years. At last, I came to the conclusion that I had to "simply" remove the weeds and get to loose earth in order to plant the new beauty. I thought it would take me about a day. Wrong.

I spent each weekend, at 6-8 hours a day, and most every workday morning for months digging down to what seemed like China to remove the roots of the weeds. The weeds were dense, tight, and fully entwined. Some were as thick as telecom cables -- 2 to 3 inches in diameter -- and stretched as long as 12 or more feet under and across the earth. When I uprooted these, I felt like a great game killer and hung them on a fence to show off my "kill."

What does Gardening Have to Do with Leadership and the Social Movement?

I thought, during these days of solitary digging with my Ames shovel, oddly, of what we know as the "old boys network." Thinking how silly it was for people to think that things could simply change in the Corporate environment. The challenges we were confronting at work on how to get more diversity, how to put more women in the highest ranks, globalization, and the POWER OF THE NETWORK came to mind. I had been working right alongside the men in power for decades. I knew they/we now "got" diversity and they've long understood the power of a network of relationships. They were as perplexed as the Diversity and Inclusion leaders, however, that they couldn't get things to change.

They -- we -- were looking at the surface. Doing as I had been doing in my garden for years on end, planting a hopeful prize here and there, and adding fertilizer and money, with the intent to have the new and wondrous blossoms spread. But you see, it doesn't work that way. For a new, more diverse garden to grow, you need to go deep, get dirty, get muddy, and dig with all your might for far longer than you ever imagined.

Over the winter of 2009/2010, the bulbs and seeds I had planted were taking root. In the Spring, I was thrilled to see new green shoots. By May 4th (my dad's birthday), gorgeous new tulips and daffodils looked out at me, though still surrounded by harsh looking dirt. A neighbor wondered if I might want to put bark mulch down to cover that unsightly dirt. I did not cover it up. I tended it, and added smelly shit (chicken doo doo, to be exact) to help it along. More deep roots found their way to the surface and they were removed much easier. The earth became more forgiving to till. Gardening was still hard work, but so rewarding it seemed unfair. Each morning, I would walk among the new shoots and appreciate each baby new blossom, welcoming it to the world. I planted more seeds.

PHOTO: The first shoots and flowers of a new natural order, following "endless-feeling" messiness.

One day, I was sort of offended when my 8 year old criticized my garden. She said, "Mom, you know you have too much green in there. It needs more pinks and blues." I took a deep breath. I knew the colors would come. But I ventured to the garden shop anyway and loaded my car with all the pink and blue perinneals it could hold. The next weekend, I took my husband's truck and loaded it up more. After each haul, planting and relishing in the expanding beauty.

Toward the end of the summer, as I was expanding the garden in a way that it would look more "balanced," like an upside down "U" versus a lopsided "L," I found bedrock. The earth above had been crabgrass. No wonder, anything that wished to grow only had a couple of inches of dusty dirt with which to grow upon.

PHOTO: The emerging, if "unbalanced," garden.

I was eager to find the boundaries of this bedrock, which I started to nickname "Mount Monadnock" after the bald headed mountain I hiked on as a kid. Neighbors on their morning walk watched me curiously at this "futile" attempt. One man said, "You should just cover that back up. You'll never win. It is obviously massive and it won't look good once the dirt is removed."

PHOTO: "The "futile" bedrock. Cover it up, or feature it?"

Well, there is one thing you should know about me. Never tell me what can't be done. What shouldn't be done. ;)

I worked that bedrock until the boundaries were discovered. It was loaded with architectural finds from the ice age of rock formations and drift. The kids in the neighborhood took pleasure making cairns from the stones. A dry river bed was made linking it to the rest of the garden. Twisted branches were placed over the river way like arches. Each rainstorm became a "day-after sport" to see the riverbed flowing and enjoy the colors of the stone that it revealed.

PHOTO: The process of turning bedrock into beauty.

By Fall, the volume of runners and walkers making their way suddenly to this once off-the-beaten path part of the 'hood was noteworthy. Each morning I was met with enthusiastic chants like, "Keep it going!" "I wish someone in my neighborhood would do something like this!," and my favorite, "Wow, this is going to be a tourist attraction!"

PHOTO: A glimpse at the hundreds of sunflowers and cosmos mingling as my daughter naps on a bench restored for the garden. It is painted with the message, "Enjoy."

PHOTO: My daughter, Margo, enjoying the fruit of the seeds she planted with me the prior year.

PHOTO: The dry riverbed, now adorned with twisted-old-forest-relics, leading to the featured bedrock.

PHOTO: The garden, one year after the digging began.

PHOTO: The garden: Fall, 2010. The "birds" are from reclaimed debris, made in Haiti.

PHOTO: Some of the abundant pinks and blues of the garden. Fall 2010.

Today, my garden is rooting under literally feet of snow. Little evidence of the garden and its many sculptures can be seen under the pure white mountains. It is beautiful in its purity. In its anticipation. And I know that after all these storms, bright colors and great daily wonders await all who wish to see it.

PHOTO: The garden covered, awaiting the thaw.

---------------- Talk Back -----------------

Thoughts on this post?

The linking thoughts in my mind are of crazy nature gone wild; social movement; new forms of leadership emerging; the might, time, effort, and love it takes to move the entrenched; 2012; and the beauty that will be sure to come for those who let it come to them, with peaceful determination.

December 07, 2010

It isn't just your company -- a common denominator I'm finding in my work with small and large companies alike, is that communication across business silos is a major issue. And it is an issue that, in the context of business dynamics today, is GROWING. I hear phrases like "the leaders don't talk with one another" and the mission of our company is "lacking clarity" all the time. Sound familiar?

Executives, perhaps surprisingly, are yearning for more clarity of direction and overall connection to the greater organization even more than line-employees. (I suspect the line-employees are used to feeling a bit left out -- executives are not.)

I was called on to help with just such a situation of company-wide low "strategy engagement," shortly after the prior recession. Below I'll share two strategies which were deployed. One worked, one did not.

PLAN A: Data, and a Tops-Down Approach.

After a series of one-on-one interviews with the company executives to understand and validate the problem, I started with an analytical approach. Essential information about the company's, and its business units' annual and quarterly goals, priorities, and objectives was documented in an easy to read format -- everything "on a page" with hyperlinks to drill downs. Visability into how goals did, or did not, dovetail with one another and the overarching company priorities was part of the design. (Don't assume this information is written down until someone asks for it!) I quickly found that divisional leaders were eager to see the document. That's right about where this particular approach ended.

It didn't work.

Despite high praise for the work from the most data-stringent of the executives, and an executive round-table reviewing the data where they outlined the next session where they would go deeper, and start having "prioritizing talks" -- the body of work became a hot potato doomed to be roadkill.

[*This company certainly had constructive strategy-dovetailing conversations down the line. My point here is that is this was not the ideal place to START when you want the company to start communicating, getting more connected with one another, and the greater mission.]

PLAN B: Emotion, and an All-Around Approach

Plan B came about almost by happen-stance. After about six months into the job of "Strategy Engagement," I found myself helping out a division articulate the value prop of their organization for recruiting purposes.

This exercise prompted some community-involved conversations about what they, as individuals, looked for in an ideal job, and what inspired them to work there. The "inspire" word was the key to the kingdom. What emerged when asked that question was visceral.

Thus began the more bottoms-up and community-based "Strategy Engagement" work -- which, when paired with social technology and BEHAVIOR, greatly fanned the flames of cross-silo communication, innovation, revenue generation, and more.

What was at the core of Plan B? Two Things.

"Social Media at Work"

The company had a nascent internal social network at the time. My role, and that of many others at the company, became one of listening, genuine participation, sharing, facilitating, and removing of road blocks in the way of goodness.

When enabled and welcomed to do so, employees embrace communicating with one another! When they feel safe to share, they will share ideas that will spawn wonderous cross-silo communication -- and as a result, community spirit will take root and grow.

LEADERSHIP STYLE

The leadership increasingly displayed a self-less/ego-less style and avoided trying to control the conversation. They learned to listen more to the "global genius" of the workforce, before calling the play.

Reminds me of something I heard from Jack Welch of GE fame, once: He described his role as "Leader" by saying, "I walk around with fertilizer and water."

When this leadership style is blended with the tool of social networking at work, amazing things happen!

RESULTS?

After just two to three years of Plan B's leadership-enabled organic growth -- one marked with inclusion, "water & fertilizer leadership," and social technology -- this particular company (EMC) was rewarded with results which included record levels of employee satisfaction, product innovation, customer satisfaction, market share, and revenue.

MOST ADMIRED COMPANY

And another thing: Continued respect.

The people who conduct the survey behind FORTUNE's Most Admired Companies once shared with me their findings on the single most important factor to STAYING on that list: "cross-silo collaboration."

----------------- TALK BACK------------------------

What is your company doing -- or not doing -- to help enable cross-silo communication and collaboration?

Is it a challenge where you work?

If you would like to explore this subject more for your business or consulting practice, feel free to contact me.

October 06, 2010

Last week I presented at the Knowledge Infusion Forum in Chicago -- an event for HR execs. One of the fellow speakers was the Bob Rosner, author and head of Workplace 911. Bob is a funny guy and his presentation was filled with story-snippets that made you smile. One snippet, however, struck me as potent.

PHOTO: Robert Reich, source: UC Berkely

Bob recalled an interview he conducted with Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor. Secretary Reich struck Bob as astute on so many subjects, Bob decided to toss him a curve ball and asked a question along the lines of,

"Would you be able to determine the health of a company by simply walking in the door?"

"Yes," said Mr. Reich.

"How?," asked Bob.

"Within seconds I could tell you by listening to pronouns the employees used while conversing," continued Mr. Reich. "If they used 'we' and 'us' the company was healthy. If they used 'they' and 'them' the company has a problem."

-------- Talk Back -------------

Does this ring true for you?

I'd give it a solid, "yes." I experienced this first-hand in my time at EMC, but had never really thought of the behavior in such an overt way. As I think back, most every interaction I had with fellow EMCers contained the word, "we." I could tell when newly acquired companies started to feel part of EMC when they stopped using "you guys" or "core EMC" in their remarks and started to use, "us."

While Reich may have worked as Labor Secretary under Bill Clinton, I think his comments are as wise as ever.

OTHER THEORIES FROM DAYS OF OLD

For other options to help determine the health of a company -- or a smile if nothing else -- I'm reminded of two other theories I encountered from investors during the 1990's.

Around 1993 (pre- mass market use of the World Wide Web!), one investor called our investor relations department to ask for a photo of our headquarter building. "May we ask 'why?'" an associate inquired of the caller. The reply, "I'll know you're a good investment if the building is basic and square. I never invest in a company with a fancy headquarter building -- a fountain out front is the kiss of death!" (The EMC Founder's motto was "put your money where your customers best appreciate it," -- so I'm sure our (then) basic, square brick HQ passed this investor test!)

In the mid-1990's, another investor called one day to remark about our parking lot. He said, "I just want to call and tell you I find your parking lot inspirational! I drove by a few times last week well after 5:00 pm and each time the lot was full. That is my primary test for buying a stock. I bought a ton."

September 22, 2010

If you missed it, Steve Jobs and his Apple media department are getting some heat for the way they replied to a college student looking for a quote on deadline.

See this post on ValleyWag, which prints the email trail, or this clip from ABC news:

Who was right?

My thoughts:

TRUTHS:

BIG COMPANIES:

Media Departments do not get recognized, rewarded, or goaled on helping college kids. They get their strokes from positive press in mainstream publications.

Most professionals, especially PR folks, try to help out the college kid and donate time to do so, however possible.

Media Departments and Executives at hot companies get SLAMMED beyond belief with emails and requests. They only way they can handle these is to prioritize and work ungodly hours. Even when doing both -- which is the norm -- they rarely leave the office with all calls or emails returned.

All too often at hot tech companies, an "all-hands-on-deck" priority occurs for the media folk. Such priorities would bump a call from Obama, let alone a college student on deadline. Examples: an acquisition, and executive change, an earnings report, an analyst conference, or a new product announcement. When these things strike, the media folk often at work until midnight or later working doggedly to get the company's act, and message, together so they shine in front of the millions, or billions of folk who take notice when the news is out. PRIORITY ONE!

When in the midst of especially slammed times, emails get shorter and more pointed by people who are generally giving and helpful.

What about Chelsea?

It stinks that she got handled in such a way. We all deserve more respect.

Kudos to Chelsea for calling the media department, following up and even sending an email to Steve Jobs!

I suspect this entire snafu could have been avoided if Chelsea's note had led more clearly with "what was in it for Apple" rather than "what was in it for Chelsea."

The timeless book,"How to Win Friends and Influence People"by Dale Carnegie provides a great foundation for how to get what you want in such situations. It should be required reading for all college students, and professionals alike.

As for Steve's curt reply, I get it. I've been in, and seen, the situation before. I understand what drives such replies -- not that I agree with them. (I once had a manager of mine tell a high maintenance shareholder to "sell his shares if he wasn't happy.") I like that Steve defended his media department, too. That said, I think we all agree that a different approach would have been ideal.

What's the Ideal Modern Approach?

It isn't telling the media department to take more calls, or even telling Steve how to reply to emails from the public better. I think it falls on re-exploring the modern "Media/PR Department" and truly respecting, from a business standpoint, the power of a single individual in today's networked age. Rank, geography, age, or size of media publication should no longer be the key factors determining who gets served and who does not.

The new model, I believe, broadens the role what is emerging now as company "Community Managers" within social networks. The new model respects the fact that the Chelseas of the world can have as much media "reach" as a mainstream journalist.

New Era. New Thinking. New types of departments to serve the needs of media brands of all sizes.

----------------------- Talk Back --------------------------

What would such a modern department -- designed to handle the Chelsea-type requests look like in the future?

And as important, "What would such a department look like so that it could deliver a return on the investment for companies?"

Thanks for adding to the conversation. Companies of all sizes are struggling with this situation today. Trying to figure out the world of personal brands, social networks, Twitter-power, and the like, and somehow squish those new responsibilities into old-world department names like "The Media Department." We're all media today.

[Personal note: I spent about 20 years a high-tech spokesperson for a (mostly) hot tech company. Tonight, I'll be donating time to speak with a class of MBAs on how the thought-leaders of the business world are leveraging social networks for further success.]

September 02, 2010

The heat was heavy in the air by 7:00 am on Tuesday, the last day of August. I found myself telling a visiting friend that she really should take in the air, and the views by the lake, in the remaining early morning hours. Up she jumped and declared she was going to go for a swim (threatening a skinny dip even!), leaving her 5 week old baby in my care.

When she returned she declared her early morning (swimsuit-clad) swim as "better than coffee!" and highly recommended that I take my own advice and hit the lake as well.

I jumped in our "John-Deere-Orange" golf cart, and in minutes found myself having the entire lake, surrounded by mountains, all to myself. It was just me, and the sound of boats hitting moorings from the slight breeze. I swam out to the swim raft, took a left past the rocky point, rounded the moored boats and "Blueberry Island" and then started floating on my back enjoying the pure view of the blue sky and the sudden sound of the Loons singing to each other.

I was overwhelmed with the feeling of gratitude.

The phrase "million dollar month" drenched my scalp as the water swished through my hair. I could not help but feel that this past month -- spent with my family at the Lake, away from the wired world of work, and deep into the beauty of rich nature and play -- was worth a million dollars.

------------ Talk Back ---------------

Did you have a nice summer? What was the highlight for you?

To the here and now: my kids started school this week. Oscar, age 5, rode the school bus for the first time this morning. Margo, age 8, told him how everything was going to go at school, and gleefully sat next to him on the bus. Sophie, age 15, was up and out before the rest of the house woke up.

This week, I also got back to the real world. I was honored to be a presenter to Harvard's Children's Hospital Grand Rounds in Boston -- a management forum. Felt good. Discussed my favorite topic with a new ROI focus, zeroed in on the cost of payroll, and how if you manage this large expense with a more modern bent (rather than the pure circa 1850 command and control focus of today) -- you could expect to gain 30 - 50% more productivity from that investment -- oh, and help make the world a much better place for the employees of the world as well.

August 02, 2010

So Far So Good!

Chock it up to the power of blogging, and building networks outside of where you go to work each day. I've been delighted with the reception for my new venture.

While I've yet to pro-actively pick up a phone, or update my LinkedIn profile, my email box has been rich with offers to collaborate, speaking opportunities, and inquiries on my availability to help other very cool companies and consultant firms.

Last week's day spent at TEDx Boston was actually one of the most exhilarating days I've spent in the past few years. Mingling with minds whose direction is "forward," who brave to think big thoughts, whose warmth radiated, and whose offers to connect me further, was a tremendous feeling.

When I shared what I was doing now, with folks I knew, and others I met that day, business cards flew out of wallets and purses with can only be described as a magnetic effect. My head was spinning.

It was almost painful to pack up and leave for vacation. But leave I did.

We closed on our second home at Lake/Mt Sunapee, NH on Thursday. Friday we packed up, and we've been setting up house and playing since.

Will my brain atrophy?

Being torn about the need to 'jump right in' while the iron is hot, or to leverage this last month of August for some play time with my family, I asked a couple folks what I should do. "Will my brain atrophy if I take a month off?" I asked. "NO!" was the reply.

So right now, I'm focused on studying up for my mandatory-certification course for operating a boat in New Hampshire waters, for introducing my kids to biking and hiking in the mountains, to sunrises and sunsets lake-front, having home-cooked family dinners over candle-light after an evening of swimming and playing basketball ... and figuring how to improve network access here in the woods!

So if I'm a bit scarce on the blog, on Twitter, and elsewhere, give me a tad of slack, these are exceptional times.

That said, I'm not without a tad of anxiety. I wonder if I'll be okay a month or few.

For today anyway, I'm enjoying hearing the woodpecker and birds chirping outside my window, smelling the bacon cooking, and hearing the voices of happy kids waking up to start a new day of adventure with mom and dad.

Cheers.

---------- Talk Back ----------------

Any tips for me on this next stage?

I'm thinking I should dedicate perhaps a day a week to work-related thoughts during August?

I would hate to atrophy! And I know I am going nowhere without you. Thank you for reading, and for being there with me.